intent: introduce the element of designing for a human, building to the proportion and purpose of a client. concieve, design and build a model that engenders and concentrates on the meanings of engageable, responsive, enervated, habitable, space and wall.
requirements: develop a three-dimensional expression of a habitable wall using your client profile. your three-dimensional expression will be free standing and exhibited as part of our final presentation with scale drawings, rendered perspectives and process work. the model should have a place to sleep, work, socialize/entertain, showcase their work and provide storage.
final model: 1":1' scale-restricted to paper and adhesive, no larger than 20' x 20' x 14'.
This project began with the assignment of an artist. Frieda Kahlo was my assignment. Next we were to research the life of the artist; disabilities, anything that would indicate needs that a space built for them might require. With the information gained by research, a booklet was created that documented the needs of said artist. Next we were given the assignment of creating a "habitable" wall for the artist. I chose to concentrate on Kahlo's engrained sense of national pride and drew from Mexican architecture for my original ideas. I wanted the wall to be more about the actual person, than about her art. This was perhaps easier than some artists, since her art was entirely autobiographical. After making several sketch models, I felt that one idea was worth pursuing. This model was is the bottom photo and was made of cardboard with a sliding bed/desk. I felt that this was not a necessary part of the design and eliminated it. To progress with the design, I made a bubble diagram that indicated the function of each space and what the proximity should be. Then I made the next model out of foam-core. Although the original guidelines stipulated the model be made of paper, I thought that I could best indicate the varying width with a material that had more thickness than paper. After this model, the following model and then the final model did not change much in form, but rather changed in defining the craft and the aesthetic of the model. One of the largest changes in the final model was the addition of three beams on the top rather than one. This change was made because while the one beam did mark the spot of compression of all the wall planes connecting, I felt that repeating this beam would incorporate more Mexican architecture since the beams are a reference to the roof of an adobe style building. The next notable change was the addition of color. Frieda's native home in Mexico, La Casa Azul, was a traditional Mexican building painted entirely vibrant blue. I wanted the colors to show Frieda's personality as well as the colors she surrounded herself with and the colors in her paintings. The place where I struggled the most was the back part of the wall which was to be used mainly for entertaining and display of her art. For this reason, I was hesitant to develop the wall very much. In the end, I simply placed a long, jagged, tabletop area. Although a door through part of the wall would have made sense pragmatically, I chose not to because I did not want to interrupt the fluidity of the wall and make it more like a designed space rather than a "habitable" wall. In the end I feel that I successfully filled all the requirements of the project and created a "habitable" wall that Frieda Kahlo would have enjoyed living and working in.
